Rome - Total War:Blocking policy
Blocking is the method by which administrators may technically prevent users from editing Rome - Total War. Blocks are used to prevent damage or disruption to Rome - Total War, not to punish users.Blocks are not punitive in the sense that they aren't retribution. Blocks sometimes are used as a deterrent, to discourage whatever behavior led to the block and encourage a productive editing environment. See Purpose and goal. Rome - Total War:Appealing a block has instructions for contesting a block. Except in cases of unambiguous error, administrators should not undo other administrators' blocks without prior discussion; see below. Purpose and goal All blocks ultimately exist to protect the project from harm, and reduce likely future problems. When lesser measures are inadequate, or problematic conduct persists, appropriate use of a block can help achieve this in four important ways: # Preventing imminent or continuing damage and disruption to Rome - Total War. # Deterring the continuation of disruptive behavior by making it more difficult to edit. # Encouraging a rapid understanding that the present behavior cannot continue and will not be tolerated. # Encouraging a more productive, congenial editing style within community norms. For the purposes of protection and encouragement, blocks may escalate in duration to protect Rome - Total War while allowing for the cessation of disruptive editing and the return to respected editing. When blocking may be used The following are the most common situations when blocking may be used. This is not an exhaustive list; blocking may be used in other situations, particularly situations addressed by more specific policies dealing with particular issues. Even though this is not an exhaustive list, if a situation is not listed below, then a block is more likely to be controversial than otherwise. A rule of thumb is when in doubt, do not block; instead, consult other administrators for advice. Protection A user may be blocked when necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of the Wikia, Inc., its users or the public. A block for protection may be necessary in response to: * persistently making personal attacks; * making personal, professional or legal threats (including outside the Rome - Total War site); * performing actions that place users in danger; * disclosing personal information (whether or not the information is accurate); * persistently violating copyrights; * accounts that appear to have been compromised, as an emergency measure. Disruption A user may be blocked when his or her conduct severely disrupts the project; that is, when his or her conduct is inconsistent with a civil, collegial atmosphere and interferes with the process of editors working together harmoniously to create an encyclopedia. A block for disruption may be necessary in response to: * persistent vandalism; * persistent gross incivility; * persistent harassment; * persistent spamming; * edit warring; * breaching the sock puppetry policy; * persistently violating other policies or guidelines. Furthermore, some types of user accounts are considered disruptive and may be blocked: * public accounts (where the password is publicly available or shared with a large group); * accounts with inappropriate usernames; * bots operating without approval or outside their approval; * accounts that appear, based on their edit history, to exist for the sole or primary purpose of promoting a person, company, product, service, or organization in apparent violation of Conflict of interest or anti-spam guidelines. Open or anonymous proxies Open or anonymous proxies are prohibited from editing by the Wikia, Inc., and may be blocked on sight. Non-static IPs or hosts that are otherwise not permanent proxies typically warrant blocking for a shorter period of time, as the IP is likely to be reassigned, or the open proxy is likely to be closed. Many Tor proxies, in particular, are "exit nodes" for only a short time; these proxies should generally not be blocked indefinitely without consideration. See Rome - Total War:Blocking IP addresses for further details. Enforcing bans A Rome - Total War ban is a formal revocation of editing privileges on all or part of Wikipedia. A ban may be temporary and of fixed duration, or indefinite and potentially permanent. Blocks may be implemented as a technical measure to enforce a ban. Such blocks are based around the particulars of the ban in question. Bans which revoke editing privileges to all of Wikipedia—that is, they are not "partial"—may be backed up by a block, which is usually set to apply for the period which the ban itself applies. Evasion of blocks An administrator may reset the block of a user who intentionally evades a block, and may extend the duration of the block if the user engages in further blockable behaviour while evading the block. User accounts or IP addresses used to evade a block may also be blocked. When blocking may not be used Disputes Administrators must not block users with whom they are engaged in a content dispute; instead, they should report the problem to other administrators. Administrators should also be aware of potential conflicts of interest involving pages or subject areas with which they are involved. Recording in the block log Blocks should not be used solely for the purpose of recording warnings or other negative events in a user's block log. The practice, typically involving very short blocks, is often seen as punitive and humiliating. Very brief blocks may be used in order to record, for example, an apology or acknowledgment of mistake in the in the event of a wrongful or accidental block, unless the original block has not yet expired (in which case the message may be recorded in the unblocking reason). Altering block options Administrators may unblock a user in order to re-block them with different blocking options selected, where that is necessary (for example, if a block on a registered account is causing significant collateral effects to a shared IP address or a blocked user is abusing the function). "Unblock to reblock" can also be useful if the block reason needs modifying for any reason, although the original reason will still be visible in the logs. Temporary circumstances blocks Some types of blocks are used in response to particular temporary circumstances, and should be undone once the circumstance no longer applies: * blocks on open or anonymous proxies should be undone once it is confirmed that they have been closed (but be aware some open proxies may be open only at certain times, so careful checking may be needed that it really is apparently no longer in use that way); * blocks of unapproved or malfunctioning bots should be undone once the bots gain approval or are repaired; * blocks for making legal threats should be undone once the threats are confirmed as permanently withdrawn and no longer outstanding. Checkuser blocks Administrators should not undo or alter any block that is specifically called a "Checkuser" block without first consulting a Checkuser. Explanation on blocking Blocking is a serious matter. The community expects that blocks will be made with good reasons only, based upon reviewable evidence and reasonable judgement, and that all factors that support a block are subject to independent review if requested. Notification of block Administrators must supply a clear and specific block reason which indicates why a user was blocked. Block reasons should avoid the use of jargon as much as possible so that blocked users may better understand them. Administrators should also notify users when blocking them by leaving a message on their user talk page unless they have a good reason not to. It is often easier to explain the reason for a block at the time than it is to explain a block well after the fact. When implementing a block, a number of pro forma block reasons are available in a drop-down menu; other or additional reasons can also be added. Users can be notified of blocks and block reasons using a number of convenient template messages—see Category:User block templates and Rome - Total War:Template messages/User talk namespace. Information provided by blocking administrator If there are any specific recommendations or circumstances that a reviewing administrator would need to know, or which may help to avoid administrator disputes upon review of a block, the blocking administrator is strongly encouraged to note them in the block notice. Examples include (but are not limited to): * When there is information or evidence that may not be obvious, may not be fully appreciated, or may otherwise be relevant. * To emphasize that the user should not be unblocked lightly or without discussion with the blocking administrator, or named others who are aware of the full circumstances. (Eg, where harassment or users with history under a past account are involved) * Prior endorsement that if any administrator wishes to unblock, or there is consensus for it, they may without consulting the blocking admin. (Eg, for blocks that may need overturning where the blocking admin may be absent for a time) * A note that the blocking admin may be away a little, but will discuss or provide any further information requested on return. * Suggested conditions or handling for an unblock. (Eg, for indefinite blocks placed in order to obtain a commitment on future conduct) Confidential evidence If a user needs to be blocked based on information that cannot be made available to all administrators, that information is sent to the Wikia, Inc or a Checkuser for action. Those entities are qualified to handle non-public evidence, and they operate under strict controls. The community has rejected the idea of individual administrators acting on evidence which cannot be peer-reviewed. An exception is made for administrators who hold Checkuser or Oversight privileges; such administrators may block users based on non-public information revealed through the checkuser tool, or edits of the blocked user deleted via oversight, as such an administrative action is generally viewed to be made in the user's capacity as an oversight or checkuser, although the action itself is an administrative one. All such blocks are subject to direct review by the Wikia, Inc. Implementing blocks Technical instructions on how to block and unblock, and information on the blocking interface, is available at . The following is advice specifically related to blocking and unblocking on Rome - Total War. IP address blocks In addition to the advice below, there are special considerations to take into account when blocking IP addresses. IP address blocks can affect many users, and IPs can change. Users intending to block an IP address should at a minimum check for usage of that address, and consider duration carefully. IP addresses should rarely, if ever, be blocked indefinitely. If you propose to block a significant IP range, especially for a significant time, consider asking a user with checkuser access to check for collateral blocks—that is, for the presence of other users who may be unintentionally affected by the range block. See the above links for more. Duration of blocks The purpose of blocking is prevention, not punishment. The duration of blocks should thus be related to the likelihood of a user repeating inappropriate behavior. Longer blocks for repeated and high levels of disruption is to reduce administrative burden; it is under presumption that such users are likely to cause frequent disruption or harm in future. Administrators should consider: * the severity of the behavior; * whether the user has engaged in that behavior before. Blocks on shared or dynamic IP addresses are typically shorter than blocks on registered accounts or static IP addresses made in otherwise similar circumstances, to limit side-effects on other users sharing that IP address. While the duration of a block should vary with the circumstances, there are some broad standards: * incidents of disruptive behaviour typically result in 24 hours blocks, longer for successive violations; * accounts used primarily for disruption are blocked indefinitely; * protective blocks typically last as long as protection is necessary, often indefinitely. Indefinite blocks An indefinite block is a block that does not have a fixed duration. Indefinite blocks are usually applied when there is significant disruption or threats of disruption, or major breaches of policy. In such cases an open-ended block may be appropriate to prevent further problems until the matter can be resolved by discussion. If not one administrator will lift the block, the blocked user is effectively considered to have been banned by the community. In less extreme cases, however, the more usual desired outcome is a commitment to observe Rome - Total War's policies and—if unblocked—to refrain from the problematic conduct in future. See Also Wikipedia:Blocking policy, on which this page was based. Category:Policy